Blog #2, Cochran, A New Polio Virus Appears in Egypt

Polio Virus Spreads From Pakistan to Egypt

original story by: Leslie Roberts, 01/24/2013

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/01/polio-virus-spreads-from-pakista.html

A recent report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science describes the appearance of a strain of poliovirus endemic to Pakistan in the sewer systems of Cairo. The contamination was discovered in routinely tested sewer samples in December, 2012. These were shipped to the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) in Atlanta for genetic analysis and confirmation.

Although Polio has been eradicated from most areas of the globe, it persists in less developed countries, particularly Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Egypt has been free of any Polio infections since 2004, due in large part to aggressive vaccination campaigns and intense monitoring. Polio causes paralysis in about 1 out of 100 people it infects. The appearance of a “wild-type” Polio strain from Pakistan presents a potentially serious threat to the health of Egyptians, particularly children.

It is likely that the virus was brought to Egypt by someone (perhaps a family) who had recently visited or immigrated to the country from Pakistan. Egyptian polio vaccine efforts have waned during the upheavals of the recent revolution. Lower general immunity among the population could allow the new strain to gain more widespread entry into Cairo’s populace. As a result, Egyptian officials are preparing a broad campaign to vaccinate young children immediately and the larger population of Cairo in February.

Sociological Analysis

Global health, particularly in the realm of infectious diseases, is greatly impacted by multiple social factors. Although infection with the poliovirus itself does not represent a specific sociological problem, the compounding effects of civil unrest, poverty, government corruption, poor sanitation and limited health infrastructure all contribute to the sociological threats and impacts of a potential poliovirus outbreak. The countries where polio remains an ongoing threat, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are all affected by one or more of these social factors. Additionally, globalization, specifically in the form of rapid transit, multinational immigration and perhaps the porous national borders that sometimes result during periods of conflict, exacerbate these threats.

As a somewhat more developed country, Egypt seems to possess more resources in the way of disease monitoring, health care provision and vaccination capabilities. However, ongoing social unrest in the country could conceivably lead to large gaps in these services, making the possibility of an epidemic outbreak more possible.

Antony L. Cochran, 02/02/2013, 18:45

Sociology 202-02, Spring 2013